Restored First-Ever Pagani Zonda Pays Tribute to the Brand's 20th Birthday

Pagani is one of a handful of carmakers that thrive in the rarified ultra-super-luxury and performance car circles. One needs not to drive the cars to understand why.

Although Pagani Automobili was founded in 1992, it wasn’t until 1999 that the first production Pagani Zonda C12 as we know it was introduced to the world at the Geneva Motor Show the same year.

This same car, Chassis # 001, was not just a show car. It was in fact a fully homologated street-legal road car that had been driven an incredible number of miles for testing and development. It also served as the mule for crash testing. Yes, it was all but completely destroyed. But this was not to be the end of Chassis # 001.

Following the crash, most of the original parts were recovered with plans to restore the car to the exact same configuration. For its 20^th anniversary, and thanks to the Rinascimento Programme, Chassis # 001 has been returned to its former glory. This was also made possible thanks to the carefully stored precise specifications in the Pagani archives. Should you own a Pagani and be in need of “help” from the factory, know that all cars that leave the factory are fully documented like Chassis # 001.

Currently, Pagani sells the Huayra and if we’re to believe and read between the lines on Pagani’s website, there’s more to come in the near future. For now, we’re enjoying 20 years of pure automotive art and performance.